MOUSSOGRSKY-STOKOWSKI: Pictures at and Exhibition.
All-American Orchestra.
Leopold Stokowski, conductor.

Columbia 78rpm Set MM 511 (XCO 31288 - XCO 31295). Recorded in July, 1941.
Digital transfer by F. Reeder


This audio is part of the collection: 78 RPMs & Cylinder Recordings
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Artist/Composer: Leopold Stokowski, conductor
Keywords: Stokowski; Mussorgsky; 78rpm

Creative Commons license: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0

Notes

MOUSSOGRSKY-STOKOWSKI: Pictures at and Exhibition (27:43)
All-American Orchestra
Leopold Stokowski, conductor

Promenade
Gnomes
Promenade
The Old Castle
Bydlo
Promenade
Ballet of the Unhatched Chickens
Samuel Goldenburg and Schmuyle
Catacombs
Con mortuis in lingua mortua
A Hut on Fowl's Legs
The Great Gate of Kiev

Stokowski's ALL-AMERICAN ORCHESTRA
(from Classical Notes - classicalnotes.net)

More than any other conductor of his time, Leopold Stokowski (1882 - 1977) sought to actively share his music with youngsters. Wincing over his role in Fantasia, elitists accused Stokowski of pandering to mass taste and debasing the nobility of his art. But in the very same year that he "cheapened" great music to the level of Disney cartoons, Stokowski embarked on a far loftier venture that even the purists couldn't disparage: the creation of a brand new orchestra comprised entirely of young Americans.

As recounted in fine CD liner notes by Noah Andre Trudeau, the All American Youth Orchestra "was a concept born of great ideals and personal pique." Stokowski sought to combat Nazi propaganda touting the wonders of Hitler youth with an artistic statement from young emissaries of the free world" (Music & Arts CD 845). But his goal was not entirely selfless, as he seized the opportunity to vent his frustration with RCA, his record company, which had refused to sponsor a Stokowski tour but then launched one with Toscanini, its other star conductor. While his Philadelphia Orchestra remained under exclusive contract to RCA, Stokowski would face no such constraints with an entirely new ensemble. And so he created one, arranged a contract with rival Columbia and then proceeded to cut with his new orchestra many of the works that RCA had wanted him to record.

Announcements for the 1940 troupe generated 15,000 applicants. The finalists were selected through five rounds of local, state, regional and national auditions. The members represented all 48 states and included many women, a rarity in orchestras at the time. Intensive, concentrated rehearsals were followed by tours of the US and South America.

The entire process was repeated in 1941 by recruiting and training a new ensemble, which toured the US and Canada. Plans for further annual editions were cut short by US entry into the War, which meant, as Trudeau puts it, "that the youth of America would have other employment plans."

During the 1941 tour, Stokowski said: "I would not exchange this orchestra for any other orchestra in the world. These young people are phenomenal. Technically they are the equals of any musicians. And they have the enthusiasm of youth. They are so sensitive, so quick. With them the playing of music is not just a job. They have a love for it."

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Reviewer: Victor Von Psychotron - - February 2, 2010
Subject: Love it!
I love this music. It's one of my favorite classical pieces. Thanks to the poster.

Reviewer: Caliban_the_reader - - January 25, 2010
Subject: Stokowski at his best
Stokowski was a genius! Okay, so there's no stereo and the audio response of the day wasn't all that great. What's preserved here is the conductor's interpretation which is no less than phenomenal.

Great job on the transcription. Thank you for helping to preserve a priceless recording!

Reviewer: jfries - - January 25, 2010
Subject: Thanks!
This is a wonderful recording of a really neat arrangement of this piece of music! While some parts seem to lack the spark that is in the Ravel arrangement, many have been infused with a transcendence that I have not found elsewhere. Thanks for uploading this!

Is there any way that you could upload scans of the label on these records as well?